Before there was Ronda Rousey, there was Cris “Cyborg” Santos. Long considered the most dominant female mixed martial artist in history, Cyborg has been in the shadows for a little over a year following a failed drug test that saw her stripped of her Strikeforce 145-pound title and suspended from competition for a year.

Cyborg tested positive for stanozolol metabolites, an anabolic steroid known to be used by athletes and bodybuilders to retain muscle mass while losing fat. Signature to Cyborg’s domination in MMA has been her devastating striking attack and overwhelming opponents with her superior strength, backed up by a muscular physique that has both intimidated and created suspicion of her use of performance enhancing drugs.

At the same time as Cyborg was falling from grace, Ronda Rousey was making her own name in the 145-pound class, ripping through opponents with her now famous first-round armbar victories. Rousey made the cut to the bantamweight division at 135 pounds, won the world title, defended it, and then single-handedly broke ground to create a women’s division in the UFC for the first time in history. She has since defended her UFC belt successfully and stands at 7-0, 1-0 in the UFC.

Cyborg carries a 10-1 professional record, and has heard her name echoed since Rousey overtook her as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female MMA fighter in the world. Everybody on the planet wants to see a Rousey/Cyborg fight. After a year of speculation of who is the top woman in the world, Cyborg is back from suspension. But she will not be fighting Rousey. Not yet, anyway.

Ronda Rousey, in black, faces Liz Carmouche during the main event of UFC 157 at t he Honda Center in Anaheim. Rousey successfully defended her UFC women's bantamweight championship with a first round armbar submission.

Ronda Rousey, in black, faces Liz Carmouche during the main event of UFC 157 at t he Honda Center in Anaheim. Rousey successfully defended her UFC women's bantamweight championship with a first round armbar submission.

Rousey and Cyborg’s trash talking in interviews and social media has been epic. Cyborg still claims to be the best, and claims that her grudge with Rousey is no longer professional, but personal. Rousey has named the Brazilian “Cyroid” and “Cryborg”, insisting that the only way for Santos to get a shot at her in the UFC is to make the cut to 135 pounds, something Cyborg and her manager say is medically impossible.

“She’s in fight shape right now and she’s huge” Tito Ortiz told me ringside at a recent Bellator show in Anaheim. “She walks around at almost 170, it can’t happen, there’s nothing to cut.”

Cyborg’s home gym had long been The Arena in San Diego, and she now splits time between San Diego and Team Punishment in Huntington Beach, where she trains under her manager and UFC Hall of Famer Ortiz.

Rousey insists that if Cyborg gets of the “juice” she would lose muscle and be able to make the weight. UFC president Dana White has backed her, saying that the UFC has created the bantamweight division only, and that is the only weight where they would hold a fight.

In the meantime, Ortiz has managed to get permission for a release from the UFC to have Cyborg fight at 145 pounds in Invicta FC, making her debut on Friday. Their goal, he says, is to show that Cyborg is so dominant that beyond question she is the best in the world. Their plan is to fight Rousey at a catchweight 140 pounds in the UFC.